Chronicles of the Elusive Angel 4: Protection
by Kenjaje
Summary: Quickly our hero's are thrown into another dilemma as Stitch seems to still have some problems...or should I say Lilo? Due to an accident, the two switch bodies, and now have difficulty playing each other's roles. Plus another experiment is loose.
1. Trauma

Chronicles of the Elusive Angel (Vol. 4):

Protection

C/By Kenjaje

Chapter 1: Trauma

Lilo slowly stirred; suddenly alert that she had fallen asleep. She also noticed that Stitch was absent in her arm; where she had been scratching his head and hearing his purr earlier. She glanced at the clock, she had only dozed off for ten minutes or so, though it felt like it was a whole night's sleep to her. An uneasy feeling of false jetlag overcame her, but she ignored it.

As she did every day, she hopped out of bed and walked into the closet, picking out what she wanted to wear; all of her dresses were gone, those were the first things to be depleted, and often the fastest. She opened the right closet door and found a full set of dayclouths-shorts and T-shirts-which may as well have collected dust. Moo-moo's were more her taste, she didn't know why, but she scarcely wore her 'emergency' clothes, unless she knew she would be going somewhere rough and dangerous, like Mt. Wialeale.

In moments she walked out of the closet in green shorts and purple shirt, running a hand through her hair to get it out of the back of her shirt. She slipped on her sandals that were on the floor near the elevator. There were a few pairs, all of the same style, some of different colors, but mostly ranging from blue to blank, a pair or two were pink. Again she avoided the thing she didn't like; the infected pink sandals that she somehow seemed to despise, and fumbled to find a matching pair of right and left foot.

With a sigh she pressed the button, she was purposely taking her time. Though it was dull and boring; things were too quiet. Though she knew it was good to have a time of silence every now and then, to her now was not the time. She suddenly just wanted to scream erratically and break something, or just run around and be less destructive. But the elevator seemed to be too quiet too, and the mass of the silence was like an epidemic; making all within its muteness-and even an extended three-mile radius-as quiet as and as tranquil as a mime-house.

The hum that Lilo felt surrounding her from all sides finally stopped as the elevator jolted to a halt and opened the doors on the opposite side behind her. Lazily, she turned around and walked through, though it took a few seconds for her to take the first step. She strode slowly, but consistently down the hallway, listening to the creaking below her feet on the soft wood floor; the scuffle of her sandals as her feet shuffled below her; the sun even seemed to have a noise as it shined through the window of her bedroon, giving the hall a sort of calm and tranquil ambiance.

The heat of the sun tingled her face as she passed the ray of light. She paused and faced the source of it, closing her eyes and taking a calm breath in. Her back thumped against the wall as her body felt the need to bask for a few seconds; the light felt rejuvenating. She hadn't actually seen her own sun since she got back sometime last night, she remembered falling asleep while flying, and that was it. Perhaps that's why she halted here, she missed the feeling of the sun's warmth loosening the pressure of her skin, and relaxing her muscles as it seemed to relaxingly massage her.

She opened her eyes, almost falling asleep again, and stood up straight, and made her way again at a faster pace then before. The house seemed abandoned; no one was visible in the living room as she walked down the stairs. But, to her relief, as she came level with the kitchen she saw Stitch sitting down at the table. His head was bent over his arms, his palms pressed against his cheeks as he seemed to stare at something with great yet dull interest.

"Is anyone else up?" Lilo spoke, after waiting at the entrance for a few moments. Stitch hadn't even noticed her until she broke the silence. His faced turned to her.

"Naga nota." He said quietly. The sun casting through the window curtains passed his face, glimmering his eyes in Lilo's sight. She smiled.

"Want breakfast?"

"Mm...ok." He said, scooting the chair out. Even the wooden screech of the chair seemed quiet to Lilo in this dome of silent ambiance. Stitch hopped out of the chair and grabbed two bowls, while Lilo made her way to the cereal. He placed the bowls for her to pour as he got the sugar and the milk. Lilo carried the bowls to the table and went to the drawer to get spoons as Stitch poured the milk. She then placed a bit of sugar on each of their servings as Stitch put the milk into the fridge, and waited as he took his seat.

"What were you thinking about?" Lilo asked, after chewing a spoonful. "It seemed very important for you to not even hear me come down the stairs."

"Stitch thinking..." He began, swallowing his spoonful; a smile crossed his face. "About yesterday."

"What about it?" She munched.

"Lot's...Angel, Lilo saving Stitch...and Stitch's anger..." He lowered his voice on the last mentioned, as if he was ashamed for some reason. "Stitch doesn't understand though..."

"Understand?" Lilo asked rhetorically. He seemed to be slipping back in to a pondering state again.

"Naga understand anger." He said, thumping his head. "Naga remember." Lilo reached over and patted him.

"Maybe I can help." She said optimistically. Stitch took in a sigh. "Needs an explanation?" Lilo asked, translating what his sigh was saying.

"Eh." He responded.

"All ears." She smiled, putting her spoon down and laying her hands on the table. She almost wanted to play 'psychologist' and have Stitch lay down on the sofa, but she figured that would be too extreme.

"Stitch thinking back to Achie-baba Kino. Remembers everything, but remembers being angry vividly. Everything else is...blurry, with exception of anger." He paused. "Remembers how anger felt...Stitch didn't like, but had to use in order to get strong. Otherwise, not beat Achie-baba Kino." He turned in his chair and faced her, thinking of what else to say, he was half-thinking as he spoke. "Since Lilo made Stitch promise not to be angry, Stitch tries hard. Knows anger scares Lilo, but somehow always seems to happen...wasn't brought to Stitch's attention until Lilo saved him from robots yesterday."

"Everyone gets a little angry now and then...and plus yesterday wasn't really anger, you were under hamsterveil's control. But...even though I was scared because you were freighting, I was more scared that I would lose you. That's what happens every time you get angry; you change and become viscous, like you're a different person. Whenever that happens, I just feel like I'm alone."

"Eh...that's why Stitch wants to stop anger...but doesn't know how." He sulked, slumping his shoulders. "Stitch doesn't want to scare Lilo anymore...wants to do things without anger. But Stitch already tried, when fighting 625...and it didn't work." Lilo looked empathetically at him.

"Let's go the beach." She said suddenly, hopping out of the chair.

"Huh?" Stitch looked at her curiously.

"I'm going to try and help you, but to do that, I need you to be cheerful. If you're not cheerful and yourself, I can't do anything." Stitch smiled. She was really intent on helping him, something in the tone of her voice said that she was, despite the attitude she said it with, being serious about the matter.

"Ok...kowa bunga!" He exclaimed, running to the door.

"Hey hold up! I got to get my swimsuit on first!" She shouted running up to the elevator. Stitch waited patiently, tapping his foot on the ground. A minute passed by...nothing. He check his wrist and pretended to look at the time. Another few moments passed. He began to smirk, amusing himself by pretending to be impatient, but soon it seemed like she had been gone for an eternity.

"Lilo!" He hollered.

"I'm coming I'm coming!" She panted down the stairs, carrying a pail with shovels and two towels. He opened the door and bowed as she bolted out. "Thankyouverymuch." She said as one word, as he paused for a moment and then followed her out the door.

"And there you have it." Said Gantu, tossing the white ball with gray numbers on it. "Gantu-1, Little girl and the trog-0."

"I'm actually surprised." 625 said with convincing sarcasm. "You managed to catch a stationary ball that was completely harmless...and even though you _still _had a hard time getting it, it's a very commendable feat." Gantu smiled, not understanding he was being insulted. "I'd give you a merit but..."

"C'mon Stitch only a little farther!" Gantu heard Lilo's voice over the hill, and immediately froze.

"No...it can't be..." He gawked skeptically.

"Iga chookaba!" He heard the experiments voice reply.

"625, hide, we'll ambush them!" Gantu ordered, and he shoved his companion into the bushes as Lilo and Stitch came into site.

"Beating me in a race will be an essential part in my plan to cheer you up, but I'm not going to make it easy on you-"

"Freeze!" Gantu ordered, jumping from behind the bush.

"Big dummy!" Lilo screamed, as she tried to turn around, skidding on the floor. Stitch tumbled over her and turned around, skidding on the floor. Quickly he sprang up, and helped his friend to her feet. "Stitch, Gantu's here, we have to do something."

"Eh!" Stitch said turning around; the barrel of Gantu's blaster was aimed right at Stitch's eyes, blocking the whales face from his view. Stitch moved more in front of Lilo and extended his other two arms to help buffer her a bit more effectively should Gantu fire.

"You're always getting in my way." Gantu sneered, lowering the gun to gaze upon his quarry.

"Ju kaba choobita soupa!" Stitch retorted, as he gazed into Gantu's eyes. "Miga arootaba...soku...chisi..." Stitch heard a high-pitched ringing in his ears. His body suddenly turned to mush as he felt his heart pounding in his chest. The memory of being inside the holding cell while Gantu loomed over him flickered back vividly into his mind. A sharp and continuous throbbing pain started to boil on the right of Stitch's neck. He clasped the spot bare of fur and tumbled to the floor.

"Stitch?" Lilo cried with sudden alarm. He curled up into a ball, breathing and crying with what seemed like utter suffering pain. A swell of panic came over her; she recalled when she had thought she heard Stitch just a few days ago. _"Pasha...Lilo..."_ Echoed through her mind again as she saw Stitch writhe with horror on the ground. She lightly put a hand on him, he was burning to the touch, she could feel the blood rushing through his arteries, his body had snapped into some kind of overdrive-shock.

As if Gantu no longer existed to her, she picked Stitch up and hoisted him over her shoulder. A thing she was used to, and found she was doing it often. She didn't know what was going on, but she knew someone who would be able to figure out. She darted home as quickly as possible. Her destination: Jumba's room.


	2. ViseVersa

Protection

C/By Kenjaje

Chapter 2: Vise-Versa

Lilo's lungs burned as she sprinted; her right hand flailed about to help her keep balanced as she carried the weary Stitch over her shoulder. Stitch had calmed down over the past few moments; his pulse and breathing returned to normal, he stopped quivering and he began move a little in her grasp.

"Stitch can walk..." He offered, his voice shaky and his words slow, and out of breath as if he had taken a dose of anesthesia.

"No you won't." Lilo snapped back, her pace slowing down as she spoke. She traveled at a jog, trying to get as much speed as she could back to the house. At first, Stitch sort of felt hurt by the tone she had taken; it was almost as if she was yelling at him for doing something wrong. As he thought about it though, he realized it sounded more like she was worried, rather then mean.

"Miga oketaka." He replied after a moment, not even realizing it had been almost a full minute since she had denied his request to walk on his own.

"It doesn't matter," she paused for a moment, seeing the house in the distance and picking up her pace, "how you feel," again she caught her breath, now running up the stairs to the front door and pushing it open, "we're going to Jumaba," she then clambered up to the second floor, and turning to her right to jog the hallway, "just in case you might still be infected-JUMBA!" She shouted, interrupting her own sentence as she slid on her sandals into his room. Jumba turned from the table where he was working and rushed toward Lilo as she fumbled to the ground.

"What is being wrong?" He said quickly.

"Stitch...he collapsed..." She spoke airily, her chest heaving in and out.

"Looks to be like you are about to be collapsing as well. Catch your breath, I will take 626." He then grabbed the little blue puppy in one hand and took him over to the bunk beds and laid him down. Jumba then proceeded to the closet wherein was a white coat, stethoscope, and other items he had for medical examinations. "Now, be telling what happened." He repeated, as he walked over to Stitch.

"Stitch and I were going to the beach, when we ran into Gantu." Lilo spoke quickly; walking to the bunk beds and sitting on the end, still half catching her breath. "Then Stitch suddenly doubled over and started freaking out."

"By what means was he 'freaking out'?" Jumba asked, flashing a light into Stitch's eye. "What were the symptoms?"

"Well..." Lilo said ponderingly; her pulse returning to normal. "He started shivering, and sweating, like he had a fever. And his veins started growing huge, like a monster." She gripped a hand around her wrist to make her veins expand as well, to demonstrate what she was talking about. Jumba eyed her curiously, and then proceeded back to his examination; checking Stitch's ears and nose.

"Very interesting...am wondering if this phenomenon was linked to something or if it was random."

"Is he going to be alright?" She asked with worriment.

"Nothing seems to be wrong anymore, am thinking it was just a minor problem but..." He scratched his chin, thinking to himself, then spoke after the small pause. "It seems similar to an effect that those robots cause."

"What do you mean?" Lilo hopped off the bed and followed Jumba to his desk, where he popped open the computer. Lilo jumped up onto the table with her arms and looked in, levitating from the ground.

"You see," Jumba began, as the computer formed images to go along with what he was saying, "As you are already knowing, robots are composed mostly of noradrenaline. When first enter body robots unleash this massive storage of the anger hormone, which is far too much, and far too sudden for the body to be used to. Symptoms of this overdose in noradrenaline are similar to the symptoms you described 626 as having, when he laid eyes on Gantu." Jumba shut the computer and turned back toward Stitch, to continue the examination.

"But then," Lilo said, grunting as she hit the ground, "why did Stitch have that reaction again?"

"Simply put...am having no idea." Jumba shrugged. "626 no longer has robots inside of him, something vaporized them from inside of him completely. I took blood sample and found nothing." Jumba pointed in the direction of his lab, a microscope was laid out, along with a veil, which contained a red-tinted liquid in it. "626 is fine, however, full examination shows nothing is being wrong. He should come around in the next hour or so." With that Jumba took out the stethoscope from his ears, and walked toward the closet.

Lilo walked over to Stitch and took his arm, checking for his pulse—a skill she had learned from Jumba. It was normal, and she smiled. _"Maybe it was just..."_ She froze as she felt something. It was subtle, and unsettling, but barely there. It was like she heard and felt something, but wasn't quite sure. A moment later, it happened again, and continued for a few more moments.

"Everybody run!" Pleakley shouted, bursting into the room. The rumble of the ground and the sound of heavy pounding suddenly made Lilo realize what it was she sensed. "Gantu is coming!" A split second later, a large crackling noise was heard outside the home. Lilo tried to grab Stitch, but fell to the ground as a small tremor came at her. Jumba and Pleakley were on the ground as well.

"Six-two-six!" Gantu's voice boomed over the house, as his torsoe was seen through the window of Jumba's room. The roof of the room shook violently as Gantu lifted it with little effort and peered into the room. For a second, everyone was silent. Then, as if without warning, everyone in the room was kinetic.

"Come on big dummy!" Jumba shouted, moving to the center of the room and raising a fist, trying to distract Gantu while Pleakley took cover under the desk. Lilo looked around to see what she could use to help lure Gantu away, but couldn't find anything.

"Where is the experiment?" Gantu shouted, as if demanding an answer.

"You want experiment?" Jumba retorted back, almost threateningly. He ran toward a small table on which lied an experiment pod. "Take 055, is useless to us!" Jumba threw the small experiment pod at Gantu, hitting him square in the forehead.

"You're such a fool." Gantu snorted, catching the pod in his hand and throwing it back. Jumba leapt to the side, the pod smashed through the wood. "You try my patience."

"As if you had any-" Jumba began to joke, but immediately shouted with surprise and leapt to the side again as a bright ball of plasma smoked where he was just standing. "Sheesh! Touchy, touchy."

"He's got a blaster...what do I do...I got to do _something_!" Pleakley said to himself, as he poked his head out from underneath the desk. Jumba dodged more shots, amazingly quick for a man his size, and started to tell something to Lilo. Pleakley looked up on top of the table, trying to find something he could use. His search was rewarded as he found a small gun on the far right. Quickly he seized it and jumped out, pointing it at Gantu.

"Little girl, take 626, get as far away as you can, we'll hold them off." Gantu shouted, dodging shot after shot from Gantu, his knees began to quiver.

"Right!" Lilo shouted, grabbing onto Stitch's arm.

"Freeze Gantu!" Jumba heard Pleakley shout as the slender three-legged alien appeared to fabricate in front of him. Gantu flinched back, but immediately aimed his blaster at Pleakley. Jumba quickly glanced at what was in Pleakley's hand and took action.

"No Pleakley, do not be firing that gun!" He shouted, as Pleakley's stubby, shivering finger pulled back on the trigger. Jumba lunged at Pleakley and took hold of his wrist, twisting it behind his back as they both tumbled to the floor. As Pleakley's hand hit the ground, his finger pressed the trigger. From the large, square gun, a purple stream emanated from its barrel.

"C'mon Stitch, move!" Lilo shouted, holding on to Stitch's right hand, trying to move him from off the bed. She heard Jumba shout at Pleakley, telling him not to do something, but was far too concentrative on her task to hear what it was. She yanked Stitch off of the bed and he landed hard onto the floor. Lilo looked up, just in time to see a light purple beam come directly at her.

"Oh no..." Jumba said grimly, as the laser shot at Lilo and Stitch. It hit their hands, before Lilo could pull away, and immediately the room was filled with her scream. She tumbled to the floor after an aura-the same color as the laser-surrounded the two of them for a split second.

Jumba squinted his eyes, there was a lot to do and only a bit of time to do it in. He had to get rid of Gantu first. Letting go of Pleakley, he ran to his lab table and took up a syringe, loading it into a small dart gun, which he had used once before to try and sedate Stitch. Gantu was still laughing from the event that happened not ten seconds ago, until he heard Jumba's voice.

"Over here Gantu." He spoke calmly. Gantu turned and readied his blaster. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Jumba said with a rising tone. "You know what's in this?" He motioned the dart gun. "I have read all about those robots that were inside of 626. It was very intriguing. So much, that I even went so far as to creating some of my own." Gantu slouched his blaster, Jumba smiled. "If you don't want to face the side effects of it...which I know you may not be able to handle...then I suggest you leave us." A droplet of sweat trickled down Jumba's neck.

Gantu glanced around the room, trying to look for a way to stop Jumba without getting injected with the robots. Seeing no option, he lowered his gun completely and turned his back.

"This isn't over." He snarled, as he holstered his blaster and sprinted off, the tremors of his footsteps trailing behind him. Jumba relaxed his shoulders and threw the dart gun to the floor, his bluff had worked. Taking two deep breaths in, he then turned to Pleakley, who was now getting up off the floor.

"And as for _you._" He said, slightly scolding. "How many times must I tell you never to touch my inventions if you don't know what they do!"

"But I did know what that does...it...it..."

"_I'm _not even sure of what it does, it was still in the experimental stages!"

"Well if you didn't have all of your evil genius inventions just _lying_ around on desks, maybe I wouldn't have picked it up." Jumba closed his eyes and clenched his fists, breathing out his nose with rage. He then opened his eyes, and smiled.

"Now." He spoke, trying to focus. "Let us be seeing how little girl and 626 are doing." He walked over to the two, and stopped a few feet away. Pleakley turned.

"Oh no!" Pleakley shouted, running to the duo. "Somebody dial those three numbers! We have an emergency!"

"Pah..." Jumba said, whipping his hand. "Is no emergency. Laser gun was harmless, only a class 2. If anything little girl just fell over from fear."

"Oh yeah, well how come she looks-"

"She's fine. Just look, sleeping like baby." Jumba lifted her head, her breathing altered slightly from the change in angle, then returned to a normal pace. Pleakley folded his arms for a moment then relaxed. "These two are always seeming to be sleeping." He said. "Let us be waking them up." Gently he shook Lilo's shoulders. "Lilo..." He said quietly. Lilo's eyes opened, and she rolled over away from Jumba. He heard her yawn loudly as she scratched her head and lifted herself up to a sit.

"Gaba ichuta..." She said drowsily, opening her eyes. "Miga nopalu-"She paused, her eyes opening wide and her mouth clenching. The hand scratching her head slowly stopped as if she'd lost thought of what she was saying. As Lilo kept the surprised and wondering look on her face, Stitch began to wake up as well.

"What happened...?" He groaned, sitting up and rubbing the bare spot on his neck. "I feel like I just slammed into the-"Stitch stopped in mid sentence as well. Both Lilo and Stitch dawned a surprised and wondering expression on their face, something wasn't right.

"What is being wrong?" Jumba asked, trying to figure out why they were looking so strange. Stitch began to stir; he extended his arm in front of him and with his other hand began to feel the fur that grew all around it. Lilo put a hand to her face and then turned to face Stitch. They paused as their eyes met. They both had the eyes of a deer staring at headlights. "Hello?"

Both of them screamed loudly, Lilo's piercingly high and Stitch's gurglingly low. Jumba and Pleakley fell backward as the two stood and began to panic. Lilo stared blankly at her hands, as if surprised they were attached to her body, and Stitch pulled at his ears. They both stared at each other again, and paused.

"What's going on?" Stitch said meekly.

"Naga nota..." Lilo replied.

"Can someone be explaining to me what's wrong?" Jumba demanded. Both of them looked at him and pointed to each other.

"Stitch is Lilo-" Lilo began loudly.

"And I'm him!" Stitch finished the statement, as loud as Lilo had started it.


	3. Hydration

Protection

C/By Kenjaje

Chapter 3: Hydration

The sedentary ship thundered on the ground as Gantu pounded into the hull with a mixture of urgency and fear. 625 scurried into the room immediately, and was about to say something of an insulting nature when Gantu cut him off. 625 scowled, and followed the giant into the control room.

"Computer, open communication link to Dr. Hamsterveil." He ordered.

"Communication established." It replied calmly in monotone. The feed crackled as it cleared and revealed Hamsterveil diligently ticking away at a keyboard.

"Dr. Hamsterveil." Gantu spoke a bit above casual decibels. The rodent seemed to turn around in half surprise. "626 is-"

"I know." He replied with fatigue. "626 is no longer under our control." The doctor seemed slightly out of it, his eyes were bloodshot and fighting to stay open, and his face proclaimed that his mind was wandering in and out of the hazy realm of sleep.

"How can this be though?" Gantu asked, not lightning his tone. "I thought project AK was flawless at this point." The rodent on the screen gave out a sigh.

"That is what angers me." He said, resting a cheek on his paw. He seemed more tired than angry. "I still don't understand how 626 is able to revert back to normal or why."

"Well, I can't answer that, but it appears as though we have another problem on our hands." Dr. Hamsterveil widened his gaze a fraction, then let his eyelids droop down to normal.

"What would that be?" He spoke almost as if he was bored of the whole subject.

"It appears that Jumba has not only acquired knowledge of our project, but has also manufactured the basic form of the project." This time Hamsterveil's eyes didn't droop back down to normal.

"No...no that is impossible..." He slammed a fist down at the keyboard; static shimmered through the monitor in reaction. "If he manages to comprehend the full extend of the AK project then we have no choice but to abort it."

"Understood, sir." Gantu replied. "May I suggest an assault or incursion of the house to destroy all of their acquired technology?" Hamsterveil rubbed a hand against his fuzzy chin, pondering the suggestion.

"No." He responded dryly. "It would be too soon. We must lay low...give them something to do...perhaps another experiment to capture, that should occupy them for long enough, maybe even two or three. Didn't you say that you caught one over the earth's dark cycle?"

"Yes. As a matter of fact I have it right here." Gantu extended a pod which he had salvaged from his pocket and displayed it number-side up for the rodent to examine.

"Good." He said, his posture returning to normal. "Find it's abilities and let it loose on the island, I don't care what it does, but make sure that you don't interfere with it. If those two see you, then our cover is blown."

"Understood, sir. Gantu signing out." Without a word from the other end, the feed was cut, and static again consumed the screen.

"Connection terminated." The computer's voice chimed in. Gantu tossed the experiment once into the air, and walked toward the original containment orb wherein used to be all six hundred and twenty five pods. He examined the number on the pod. "Hm...599..." He keyed the number into the computer and it displayed all the available data. Gantu was quite pleased with its capabilities. "This will most definitely keep those two out of our hair for a good long time..." He spoke, as he immediately went to the facilities to execute its activiation.

"It's going to take me forever to get used to this..." Stitch (or rather Lilo) said, as he examined his claws against the ceiling of their room. Lilo, (or rather Stitch) paid only a fraction of her attention, for she was busy brushing her hair. It wasn't even noon yet, and already they'd been twisted by fate.

"Gaba ju tasha?" Lilo asked, still running the comb through her hair as if it was the greatest thing in the world.

"What do you mean, what do I mean?" Stitch exclaimed, not lifting his head. "I'm in your body, and you're in mine!" His voice began to rise with frustration. "I've got fur, I've got claws, I've got long ears, and a _tail_—I'm _not_ supposed to have a tail!"

"Eda...goobachaka?" Lilo again questioned, still half paying attention.

"No...it's not a _problem_. I mean...it would be better if I knew _beforehand_ this was going to happen to us. At least then I'd-"He paused and abruptly opened his mouth wide, ejecting mucus through the nasal passages in the back of his throat and swallowing them with a nauseating groan. "...That...was the most amount of snot I have ever..." Stitch sat up while he spoke, and looked over at Lilo, who still brushed her hair. "What are you doing?" He asked, pointing out that Stitch (as Lilo) was taking a liking to such a girlish action.

"Uh..." Lilo said nervously, stopping her action immediately and looking at the brush in her hand, then darting her eyes at Stitch, and back at the brush. "Nagaba." She said with a smile, trying to hind the brush behind her back. Stitch rolled his eyes and laid back down to look at the ceiling.

"I wish I could cope with this as well as you are." He grumbled. Lilo felt a bit sympathetic, laid the brush down, and calmly walked over and sat on the bed.

"Is strange for Stitch as well..." She confessed, thought it sounded odd, as it was Stitch talking to Lilo in his body using her voice. It just felt...eerie. "But," She continued, extending a hand to scratch Stitch's head. "Jumba will find way to fix us." Stitch closed his eyes and winced relaxingly at the petting gesture. Stitch, as Lilo, knew exactly where to pet, and when to pet it, and this spot above his nose was where _he_ liked it when he was feeling stressed.

"Yeah...I guess you're right." Stitch replied, his voice now less frantic. "_Ok..._" Stitch spoke as if he'd just realized something was disturbing. "I'm drawing the line at this," he backed away, "me petting myself on the head is just _too_ weird!" Lilo looked off to the side, and then dropped her arm. "I hope Jumba can cure us...and soon." As if on cue, up came Jumba from the elevator and out he stepped into the top floor of the tower, with two pairs of eyes staring eagerly for his report. He flinched, not exactly expecting such an expectant welcome from the two, but then cleared his throat.

"Little girl," he said to Stitch, "626," he turned to Lilo. "Am having good news...and am having bad news..." He paused, waiting for a rhetorical gesture from one of them, but there was none, so he was forced to continue. "I have determined that the cause of your switching of bodies was indeed, due to this." He displayed the small pistol-like device Pleakley had threatened to use against Gantu not ten minutes ago. "This was an experimental project I was working on, which was used before it should have been—used on the two of you.

"Apparently, there is an unknown variable in the laser that caused the switching of two bodies." He spoke explanatorily, but soon after he paused and a dour look dawned his face.

"And...the bad news?" Stitch asked, though not wanting to.

"Bad news being...I have no cure, and know way of knowing if this transformation is being permanent or not. There is chance it is, there is chance it isn't. But...I assure you I will not rest until I have found out a way to cure you both." He said optimistically, trying to cheer up the frowns that crossed the faces of the two-switched persons before him. "Am...being sorry." He apologized, hoping that that would make them feel a bit better, at the least.

"Oketaka." Lilo replied, lifting her head up.

"Until you do," Stitch chimed in, "we'll do our best to deal with it." A meek smile crossed them all as they tried to lift each other's spirits, and Jumba left the room to get to work immediately. Lilo and Stitch both let out a sigh and looked at each other. "We'll have to make do." He said.

"Eh." She replied.

"_Now that I have freed you from your pod, I ask that you do a favor for me. I only hydrated you so that you could do one thing: distract two people for me. They live in a house not far from here, I want you to do what your programming tells you to do. They'll try to convert you, but don't listen to them. Also, you are not to start your real progress until later on today, they will be suspicious if you reveal yourself too soon."_

Gantu's words echoed once again through the mind of 599. The experiment reviewed, and re-reviewed the orders given, and applied them. Under the guise of a cloud-one of this particular experiment's many abilities-599 hovered over the island, careful to make sure that the black bottoms of the cumulonimbus's, ready to burst with rain at any moment, kept above its body to shield it from the sun.


	4. Odd Encounter

Protection

C/By Kenjaje

Chapter 4: Odd Encounter

"Well," Stitch spoke initiatively "it looks like we're stuck for a while, so..." He paused, thinking of what words to use to put into his idea. "We're going to have to be each other."

"Gaba ju chuga?"

"I mean, you have to be me, and I have to be you. If we don't, then things will probably get really complicated...we have to try and make the best of it until we can get back to normal..._if_-"

"Naga. _Will_." Lilo interrupted, cutting off Stitch's correction.

"Right," he agreed, "we _will_ get back to normal." Lilo smiled.

"Stitch agrees with Lilo, live as each other...but how? Miga confused." She shrugged, looking at the he that she should be.

"It's simple." Stitch explained. "All we have to do is act like each other. You know; say what each other says, do what each other does...walk in each other's shoes." He raised his arms to help explain.

"Oh...now understand." Lilo said, thumping her head. Stitch let his arms down and sighed with relief, he was running out of ways to explain it. "Ok...uh...what does Stitch do?"

"Well," Stitch began to pace around Lilo, scrutinizing her, "you slump your shoulders like I do...and your movements are similar..." Lilo bent down and walked on hands and knees to put the brush back on the table. "But you're going to have to not walk on all four's." Immediately Lilo stood on two feet, and took the remaining steps to the table. "Now what about me?"

"What about Stitch?" She asked mockingly, smiling.

"Let's focus, ok?"

"Oketaka." Lilo sighed as she walked to Stitch. "Let Stitch see..." She spoke with a tone of examination. "Bark." She commanded softly.

"What?"

"Stitch acts like dog, now Lilo have to act like dog too." She explained.

"_Oh_, now I see." Stitch bent down on all fours and gave out a meek little yip. _"This is harder then it seems..." _He thought as he tried to bark again, only sounding a bit more realistic compared to the last attempt. Lilo bent down, and put a finger on Stitch's throat.

"Here. Bark from here." She advised. Stitch tried his best to make the barking emanate from that point, and it sounded a lot more realistic. "Good," Lilo chimed, folding her arms, "but needs improvement." Stitch raised an eyebrow as he looked up sideways at her. "Try growling."

"Grr..." He growled, though much like the barking, it wasn't very realistic.

"Naga, naga," Lilo put a hand over Stitch's mouth to stop him, "caba miga." She said, as she demonstrated. Stitch watched as Lilo leveled some saliva in her throat and growled most convincingly. _"Wow." _Stitch thought. _"If I had fangs I could pass as a werewolf and sneak into their society."_ Lilo stopped and swallowed. "Ju-cta." She said, motioning her hands.

"Ok," Stitch imitated the performance; gathered a puddle of saliva around his tongue and forced it halfway down his throat. With a few attempts, he was able to get a nice, clean, realistic growl. Lilo nodded with approval. "Cool! I can't see why you don't like being a dog so much..."

"It...degrading...sometimes..." Lilo let out a fake sniff of sadness. Both of them laughed for a moment, and continued to teach each other how to act the other person. Though it seemed, fun, there was still the nagging feeling about what Jumba said: _"Could be permanent."_ Lilo shook her head to get the thought off her mind.

"Man," Stitch said, walking over to the clock, "why couldn't this have happened sometime like last night? It's only 11:30...we got to spend the whole day like this." Lilo slumped her shoulders. "Maybe even longer then that."

"Stitch and Lilo help Jumba." Lilo spoke, suggesting an idea to keep them occupied.

"We could. I don't see why not...let's go see." Stitch agrred as Lilo led the way into the elevator and pressed the button. Quietly it hummed down with the sound of rushing air outside. It stopped at the bottom, and the two turned around to walk out the other side. "Oh...wait..." Stitch said suddenly.

"Gaba?" Lilo asked, looking at her friend with urgency.

"I want to drink some coffee..." Stitch trailed curiously. Lilo smacked a hand to her face and shrugged her shoulders.

"Oketaka..." She said ominously, almost warning Stitch it was a bad idea. She chased after him as he scampered down the stairs, and almost fell down a third of the flight. In seconds they had reached the coffee machine, full of the morning batch. Nani hadn't woken up yet. _"Thank goodness is Saturday._" Stitch thought. Deftly he poured a cup into a mug and sat still for a few seconds.

"Here goes nothing..." And with that downed the coffee in a single gulp, nearly chocking on the steaming, soupy liquid as it scorched her throat slightly. "Ow!" He yipped, panting and fanning at his mouth.

"Should have added milk." Lilo chimed in.

"You should've told me-"A gurgle was felt in Stitch's stomach. He looked down with curiosity and surprise at the odd feeling. It was like the coffee was boiling inside of him. Soon, he felt a wave of energy rush through his veins, and he opened eyes wide. "Whoa!" He suddenly had an uncontrollable and hyperactive desire to let loose and go crazy. Even though it was Lilo in his body, it was just like the real thing; Stitch gave out a crazy laugh and raised his arms as if he had all the power in the world, and then proceeded to burst past Lilo and out into the backyard.

"Oh naga." Lilo groaned. "Not Stitch's day." She rolled her eyes and without a moment's pause, chased after her caffeine-crazed body. Stitch ran free and violent through the backyard, an entire forest was his to corrupt. He stepped upon flowers and jumped in leaves, spat mucus on animals and scared anything that moved. Scared everything except Lilo, who was charging toward her.

"Catch me if you can!" Stitch challenged, leaping away and eluding a lunge-grab from Lilo by near seconds. Lilo rolled over, and stood to her feet, and immediately fell over from dizziness. As soon as the trees above her head merged into one, she knew it was safe for her to stand up again.

_"At least she didn't have coconut cake..."_ Lilo thought. _"There's nothing that can stop me after coconut cake..." _Lilo ditched her sandels (Stitch was more adept with bare feet) and darted forward, intent on closing in the gap she had allowed Stitch to create.

He, on the other hand, was already heaving at a tree a far distance away. But, he was only stopping for a few seconds, he knew that his former self would catch up to him, after all, it was her body, and she always managed to catch up to Stitch. As soon as he could, he gunned it.

Passing everything in a blur; a smear of brown crossed his eyes as the trees blended into a single wall on either side of him. But that stopped abruptly as he smacked into one of those blurs which happened to be in his path. Groaning with pain and rubbing his cheek, he hazily walked onward, half paying attention to where he was going.

He came upon a large clearing, where the forest seemed to end. A few hills surrounded a small indention in the land that was enclosed by hill in the far side; a little meadow full of leaves, and no way for them to get out. A grassy hill surrounded each side, and on one hill in particular, was a tree that he recognized.

Slowly he staggered toward the tree, it seemed a longer walk than what he saw. He covered the distance in what seemed like three or four minutes before finally taking a rest at the tree.

"I'll let him catch up." He said aloud, closing his eyes. "This was fun..."

"Ikaba..." Lilo snorted as she sprinted her fastest through the forest. "How Lilo so fast...Stitch barely _crawling_." Of course, he was comparing her speed to his own. For some reason, he couldn't harness the power to run as fast as she could. Even though he was pushing her body to a sprint, it still seemed slow.

But it was much easier to weave in and out of the trees. In his own body he had to constantly be aware of his surroundings as he sped his way through cluttered paths, but as Lilo he could see every obstacle clear as day.

"So...slow..." Her voice groaned, mocking slow motion. Deciding to take his time, he paced Lilo's body to a walk and continued on after a short breather.

"Gatchooto...gatchooto boochie-boo."

"Huh?" Stitch opened his eyes, his vision blurry as his eyes started to slow down from their rapid movement. He felt dizzy, and his cheek hurt a little. The pink smear soon turned solid. "Wha-!"

"Gutcha, boochie-boo." Angel chimed, closing in for a kiss. Stitch slammed his back against the tree with surprise, shacking down a few leaves and sending a jolt of pain through his spine. "Gaba okuta?" Angel asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Oh...ah..." Stitch began to sweat nervously, glancing his black eyes around erratically. _"Oh man...what do I do? This is _not _a good time for Stitch to see Angel..." _Stitch gulped in heavily. In a panic Lilo said the first thing that came into her mind.

"Miga...rookoota agie-tichu..." Angel's eyes widened, a perplexed look crossed her face.

"_Oh...I had no idea..._" Angel spoke, a tone of worry in her voice. _"What did I just say?" _Stitch thought. "_Do you need help or something? Because...I don't think I'm the right kind of person to come to when you have _that _sort of problem..._"

"Oh...uh...naga..."

"_You _were _just kidding...right?" _Angel asked, a tone of seriousness in her voice.

"E-eh...?" Stitch gulped again, hoping he slid out of that one without making himself look like a fool. _"Note to self: ask Stitch what I just said so that I won't say it again...I really need to learn how to speak his language should this random event ever occur again." _

"Lilo!" Lilo hollered from a distance, Stitch looked over and sighed heavily with relief. _"Oh look," _He thought, _"here comes Stitch. _Nice timing!_" _

"Gutcha Lilo!" Angel hollered back to her referred. "boochie-boo, _why did you come? I know it's not just because you wanted to tell me you were having problems with your_-"

"Gutcha Angel." Angel turned toward Lilo with surprise, not expecting the earthling to reply in turin. Angel timidly waved hi back, and moved aside as Lilo seized hold of Stitch around the neck. "Naga coffee for Lilo." She scolded. Angel immediately knew something was up, and it was confusing her. Stitch began to struggle and writhe against Lilo's grip but it was to no avail. Their struggle soon turned to Angel's direction, and she had seconds to respond and step to the side as the two tumbled over each other at her.

"Jusa-kappa!" Angel yelled, her voice echoing across the hills. Immediately the two squabbling blurs stopped their feud and looked at her with undivided attention. She heaved in a sigh. "_You two are acting funny...is this some sort of game or something? I mean...I'm not mad or anything I'm just confused is all..._" Lilo looked down at Stitch, and Stitch back at her.

"Ju naga ishka?" Lilo asked.

"Well...not exactly...I mean, I didn't want to make you look bad..." He replied meekly.

"_Tell me what?" _Angel asked, her hands on her hips.

"Uh...well..." Stitch began, "that's kind of a long story...got a minute?" He said with a toothy smile.


	5. Calm

Protection

C/By Kenjaje

Chapter 5: Calm

Clouds gathered in the sky, lofting over the tiny island. They're bottoms gray and heavy with raindrops, but they were merely on standby. One cloud in particular beaded down on the landscape with two eyes, 599 sat in the guise of the cumulonimbus.

The clouds around the experiment were ready to begin to the experiment's whim. But the sun had barely reached high noon _"Now is too soon."_ The experiment thought. _"But there are my targets, in that isolation of hills. That would be the perfect place...I should start there if anywhere..." _

So as not to be seen, 599 moved deeper into the pith of the cloud, but still stayed below the gray-line; the experiment hated light more than anything, but soon the clouds gathering around would block out the sun completely. That was the plan, block out the sun to be able to walk on the ground around evening. Then the fun would begin...

"...And that's why we seem like we're not ourselves,"

"Eh,"

"Because we're _really _not ourselves." Angel's face was slightly drawn back, half understanding, and yet half confused. She glanced back and forth between the two, trying to figure out which one to address.

"Is Angel going to be ok?" Lilo asked, facing Stitch.

"I think we scared her..." Stitch replied, waving a hand in front of Angel's face. At first she didn't respond, but then flinched.

"_I'm..._" Angel began, but trailed immediately, still in the process of taking in the information.

"You're..." Stitch mocked, making Lilo laugh aloud.

"_I'm...alright, this is just...slightly disturbing..._" Again Angel's eyes glanced back and forth.

"That," Stitch began, "is an understatement. But, at least you know...so next time you won't try to-"

"_No,_" Angel interrupted, a blush coming on her face, "_no, I'll think twice next time._" Lilo eyed the two, not quite understanding what they were talking about.

"Ok. And, just so we're both clear...that incident-"

_"never happened._" Angel finished the sentence, her arms crossing out in front of her.

"Gaba?" Lilo chimed in, feeling left out from the inside conversation.

"Nothing." Stitch said to Lilo, smiling innocently. A breeze passed by, as did a moment of silence, until Stitch stood and took a step away. "Stitch and I were actually going to see Jumba," he began again, talking to Angel, "but then I saw the coffee pot and...well..."

"_Ah yes, the coffee..._" Angel spoke nodding her head exaggeratingly. Another moment passed, all three of them looked at each other, then suddenly broke out laughing. "_Just couldn't help yourself could you?_" Angel managed to say.

"I guess not," Stitch sighed, "but now I can see why Stitch likes coffee."

"At least Lilo didn't eat coconut cake." Lilo said, rolling her eyes, causing the three to burst out with laughter again. After the noise quieted, Stitch rose from rocking on his back, and turned to the forest a distance away.

"Well, I'm going back. Don't stay out _too _long, Stitch." He waved as he disappeared in the thicket of trees.

"Eh." Lilo shouted. She turned to Angel and helped her to her feet. Angel let out an exhausted sigh.

"_Looks like things are going to be pretty freaky for a while._"

"No kidding..." Lilo agreed. "Angel happy." She commented, after cursorily glancing at Angel's smile.

"Eh." She replied bashfully. "_What you said really helped me._"

"Good." A light, and slightly cool breeze passed by, Lilo shivered. (Stitch wasn't quite used to skin, and its susceptibility to cold temperatures.) "Getting cold...Stitch better go back inside."

"_Okay._" Angel said, nodding. "_Try to change back soon, too. I know its really you but I feel like I'm in love with _Lilo_..." _Angel's comment caused Lilo to snicker noticeably. "_Well! You'd feel that way too if I switched with someone like Pexx!_" That only made the girl burst out laughing even more. Angel gave a mockingly angry gruff growl; Lilo snapped to a straight face. "_At ease._" Angel giggled, punching Lilo lightly in the arm.

"Ok, ok." A violent gust brushed by, Lilo's hair, and dress, and Angel's fur went along with its direction. "Getting colder."

"_Yeah, you should go. I was planning on leaving soon anyway._" Lilo frowned. "_Don't worry, I'm not going to go very far, I'll still be close._" Angel responded, reading Lilo's mind. That eased the frown, which was replaced by gritted teeth as another gust blew by.

"_This is still _so _weird." _Stitch thought, trotting through the trees, staring at his hands. A powerful breeze ruffled his fur. _"Why is it so cold? Either fall is coming early, or Slushy's getting sick of the heat around here." _A shiver went through his spine, and every strand of fur seemed to stand on end. _"I hope Stitch isn't too cold...I'd be freezing if I were in my own body right now._"

"Lilo! Kita!" Came Lilo's voice from behind, Stitch stopped and turned to see the darkened silhouette coming closer to him, then stop and pant as she reached his side.

"That wasn't very long..." Stitch said, referring to the time spent with Angel. "Are you cold? Because I sure would be."

"_Freezing!_" Lilo replied. "This worse then west Texas." She commented. Stitch let out a laugh and rubbed Lilo's arms to warm her up.

"Well, when we get back home, I'll ask Pleakley to turn up the heat a little."

"Oketaka." Lilo replied, as they began to walk again. For a long time they were quiet; admiring the little walk through the woods. The wind rustling the trees—and the occasional chatter of Lilo's teeth—seemed permanently present all around them. Though strange, the change of weather was something tranquil, especially with the forest; the forest added an ambiance of silence different from that of the silence of the house earlier that morning.

Stitch closed his eyes and listened intently to the noises around them, while still hugging Lilo close to keep her warm. Somewhere in the distance, the sound of water came to his ear, along with the call of birds and the silent chiming of the sunshine peeking in through the slightly dense canopy.

"I like this." Stitch said quietly, smiling. "We should walk here more often."

"E-e-eh." Lilo stuttered.

"Here, I'll carry you back, it'll be a lot faster that way." Before Lilo said an agreeing remark, Stitch lifted her onto his back. "Now...how do you make your extra arms come out again?" He asked.

"J-ju, nagita-"

"Wait, I think I might know." For quite a while Stitch had felt something on his back, sides, and head. Assuming that it was just something natural of Stitch's body, Lilo took no mind to the strange feelings of something "extra", but now, she realized, that these were his alien features—most likely. Her realizations were correct, as she felt Stitch's body react in an odd way; a feeling as internal bones moved outward, and another similar feeling as skin formed into hands around the protruding bones, made Stitch incredibly nauseated. "Whoa..." He groaned sickly, as the arms finished their formation. "I don't think...I _ever _want to have to do that again."

Suppressing the nausea, Stitch gripped Lilo's legs with the lower arms, and used the upper arms for momentum while he sprinted through the forest. Lilo leaned in low to avoid the low-riding branches, and violently attempted to hold on as Stitch swerved and swiveled through trees, over protruding roots, and through narrow bushes at the speed of a bullet.

"I know it's here somewhere..." Stitch muttered, tossing through a chest of clothes. "Where did it-aha!" He exclaimed, hopping out of the chest. "Here you go, put these on and meet me downstairs in Jumba's room. Lilo caught a pair of jeans, t-shirt, and an orange, full-zip, wool jacket with two pockets near the bottom.

In what seemed like an oddly long and aggravating amount of time, Lilo finally managed to change and proceeded down the elevator, and across the hall to the end to Jumba's room. She arrived in the middle of a conversation.

"Well, at least _that's _good to know." Stitch said with relief. "But I just wish you knew what happened, do you think there was a cause for it or do you think it just-"

"Ah, 626." Jumba greeted Lilo as she came through the door. "Was just explaining to little girl what I have discovered about the switching of your bodies. It seems that it is _not_—I am reiterating, _not_—permanent. I have experimented with pineapple and banana, and have found that they switched on inside, just like you two have done." He proceeded over to a table where he displayed the two fruits; the banana's innards were that of an apple, and vise-versa for the apple's interior.

"Though they are currently switched, there was a time where they were their original states. This means that there is, in fact, a cure to the switching."

"Unfortunately," Stitch chimed in, "Jumba didn't _see _what happened, so he's doing it again. Maybe this time he'll find out." Jumba rubbed his head in embarrassment. "But, like I was saying, Jumba, do you think something has to happen or do you think it just-"

"_LILO!_" The entire party in Jumba's room jumped with surprise at the sudden shout that came from behind them. Lilo turned and looked into the doorway to find a scowling, very angry looking, Nani. "Moses called." She said, quietly scolding the little sister. "Did you know that your first hula practice of the month was today, because I've only told you for the past _week_. Where have you been, why aren't you at practice?" Lilo started to say something, but Nani interrupted. "No, I don't have time for excuses, I've been called in to work _again _on an off-day. You're going to have to walk to practice, and when you get back home, we are going to have a little talk about responsibility."

_"Again?" _Stitch thought, letting out a low groan. _"Wait a minute..." _His eyes widened as it suddenly dawned on him. _"I can't go to hula practice today! _I'm _Stitch!"_


	6. Fog

Protection

C/By Kenjaje

Chapter 6: Fog

"C'mon, c'mon!"

"Stitch coming, Stitch coming!" Lilo shouted in aggravation as she sprinted behind Stitch, trying to keep up with him. It wouldn't matter if they were separated, Stitch knew the way to the Aloha hut by heart, but he'd rather not let his body get away.

"Do you want me to carry you again?" Stitch asked, as soon as no one was around to hear.

"Naga," Lilo snapped, "Stitch is fine." Though the sound of her panting voice suggested otherwise. The air was still considerably chilly, and her lungs felt chilled and dry as she panted. But she suppressed the stinging irritation and pushed on; they were almost there. At last what seemed like a mile-long run, ended as the stairs to the building came into view. Stitch continued on, while Lilo slumped down at the base to catch her breath.

"Stitch, don't stop now." Stitch begged, running back down the stairs to help Lilo up. "You've gotta be me, and _I _have to be at hula practice, now hurry, c'mon!" With a few more hustling words and nudges, Lilo finally lifted herself up, and ran up to the door, bursting inside.

"Ah, Lilo," Moses started, interrupting what he was saying before, "Welcome back. You can sit next to Mirtle." He pointed at the spot near the end of the semicircle the other girls had arranged. Stitch—Lilo tried her best to be in character—half pranced, half hobbled behind Lilo, and sat next to her. "Ok, now that we are all present, I think we should discuss the plans for this month..."

"So Weird-lo," Mirtle began insidiously, ignoring Moses' speech, "decided to come out of your 'lair'?" Her nostrils flared as she spoke. Stitch—as Lilo—knew that Mirtle was just trying to get under his skin. The strange thing was; it was working. "You may as well have not come at all, we've been very happy that you haven't come lately, and now you're just infecting us again." Lilo growled hoarsely.

"...Now all we have to do is come up with a charity fund-raiser, so that we can do our service to the community. Does anyone have any ideas?" Lilo continued to growl through Moses' introductory speech. Though he paid a little attention, she wished more so to pummel Mirtle into the ground. Stitch kept a hand on her shoulder however, to urge her not to stand out; Stitch didn't want any confrontation until they were back to normal. "How about you, Lilo?" Moses said, as if out of the blue.

"Huh? Miga?" Lilo asked, pointing to herself, somewhat jarred that _she_--of all the other girls--was the one Moses picked.

"I don't see anyone else here by that name." Moses spoke softly. "Do you have an idea?" Lilo—as Stitch—also received a ping of panic. She had hoped that they would just be able to hide today, and not have to answer any questions. She knew that Stitch was panicking; he began to utter nervous grunts and conversation fillers, and glancing at her as if to ask for her to come up with something. Mirtle smirked slyly, as if she'd won some kind of battle, but Lilo ignored her and concentrated on thinking of something to say to cover Stitch. "Well?"

"Uh...-"Lilo started to speak.

"My throat hurts..." Stitch's voice came coarsely, as Lilo tried to sound as much like herself as possible, to give a convincing excuse. Stitch glanced back at his body, and saw Lilo wink his own large eye. He got the hidden message, and pointed at his throat, to emphasize what wasn't said by him.

"Oh," Moses commented, "I see. Well then, perhaps Mirtle can give an idea?"

"Of course!" Mirtle said ecstatically, as if she had all the ideas of the world. "We can go to the Aloha stage, and put on a show to ask for donations. We can come up with a routine and _everything_."

"Hmm..." Moses put a hand to his chin, thinking the idea over. "I like it Mirtle. We'll put on an Aloha performance for a charity, and also show what the meaning of Aloha Industries is all about at the same time."

"Yeah!" Mirtle chimed in, along with her passé, with false excitement. Stitch and Lilo remained in the shadows as Mirtle leered at them and smirked again, as if she'd won yet another battle.

"Well then, I think it's settled. We'll plan out our presentation today, and put it on for next week." Moses stated, scribing his plans on a chalkboard. The other girls ran to a far corner of the room to gather their supplies, and spread out upon the floor. Lilo and Stitch meekly joined in as the staccato of voices began to murmur.

"This'll be easy." Mirtle chuckled. "Just a few hulas, maybe a play, and definitely a spotlight show on me." She spoke with pride, lifting her nose to the air. Her eye opened and fell upon Lilo and Stitch, as they paced themselves over to the group. A frown crossed Mirtle's face. "_You _can collect the money, I _suppose_." She decided.

"Oketaka." Lilo said airily.

"Right, oke-whatever. Just don't interfere with our plans. You might infect them with weirdness." The other girls laughed, as they merely jumped Mirtle's bandwagon. Lilo sat down, and put her hands against her cheeks, and her elbows on the grass skirt covering her legs.

"_You know how much I want to-_"

"Yes." Stitch interrupted Lilo, as she spoke in turian. "But you can't." Lilo leered angrily at Stitch, but not angrily toward. The other girls began to talk amongst themselves again. "Whoa, do I look like _that _every time I talk to Mirtle?" Stitch whispered.

"Sometimes." Lilo replied quickly.

"Would you _stop_ talking to your dog?" Mirtle shouted out of the blue. Stitch scooted back a little bit, and Lilo leered angrily at Mirtle. "Sheesh. You don't have to be so angry about it." Mirtle continued, turning back to the two and continuing on with her plans.

"Lilo?" Moses asked, walking toward the two lone persons outside of the huddle. "Are you feeling alright?" Lilo looked up at Moses, trying not to seem angry, and shook her head. "Maybe you should go home if you're not feeling too well. I'll arrange another day for us to meet so we can go over the plans together after Mirtle and the other's are done." He offered. Lilo nodded.

"Sure." Stitch muttered, trying to throw his voice.

"Alright then. But, since you're going, would you mind dropping off this letter to the post office? It has to deal with the arrangement for the stage next Saturday, and it would be a big favor." Without a word, Lilo stood up and took the envelope in Moses' extended hand. "Thanks, Lilo. Get better soon." He called as she and Stitch gathered their things and went out the door.

"_That _could have gone better." Stitch scoffed. A moist, humid feeling made his fur poof out a little bit. It took him a second to realize that there was a very thick fog looming outside. "Wow. This is new..."

"Eh, strange." Lilo said, the anger relieved from her voice.

"Thanks for not attacking Mirtle in there, I know how she can be." Stitch said as their feet made soft clunking sounds on the wood of the stairs, which they could barely see from the denseness of the fog.

"Welcome." She replied. Stitch grabbed onto Lilo's hand.

"We'd better stay close, I can't see too well."

"Miga naga loota." Lilo agreed. They paced slowly down the road, sticking close to the buildings they recognized; one wrong turn would literally throw them off, the fog was far too thick to see anything beyond just a foot and a half or so.

"What is _up _with the weather today?" Stitch commented, as a zephyr blew some unseen paper across the dirt path. Not a soul seemed to be out, or if they were, they were sure being quiet.

"Naga nota." Lilo said, "But Lilo's hair annoying." She continued, trying to move the frizzled matt to another shoulder.

"Here's the drop-off box," Stitch spoke, taking the letter from Lilo's hand. She heard the sound of metal clinking, but couldn't see what Stitch was doing. A loud creek signified Stitch had shut the box. "There, now we just have to get home. And I think it's...this way." Stitch led, Lilo keeping up diligently behind him, looking at the ground to make sure she didn't stumble over any rocks or other obstacles in her path. She could barely see a thing, Stitch's hand gradually turned into an opaque silhouette as she panned up his arm. Stitch stopped for a second, then moved on, but then stopped again, abruptly. Lilo slammed into him.

"Soka." She said, and waited for a reply. "Lilo?" She asked rhetorically.

"Shush." Stitch said quietly. "I hear something..." Lilo tried to listen too, but couldn't hear anything.

"Gaba?" She finally asked.

"I don't know, but it's coming from this way, c'mon." Quickly Lilo was tugged in a random direction, her arm jolted as her feet stumbled to keep a steady stride. For a while she was able to barely keep up, but Stitch was going too fast, and Lilo didn't see the tree root on the ground.

"Yow!" She yelled, as she let go of Stitch's hand and fell on her stomach, her palms and right knee scraping against the ground. "Soka, Lilo, miga regatta ji...Lilo?" She asked, realizing that her referred wasn't present. "Lilo?" She asked again, an uneasy quaver in her voice.

"Are keeping up ok Stitch?" Stitch asked, panting hard, but he didn't hear a response. "Stitch?" He too, discovered that they had parted somewhere along the lines. He thought that Stitch had just let go to keep a better pace, but it dawned on him that Stitch might have gotten lost. "Stitch!" He yelled, but there wasn't an answer. He continued forward, calling out to Stitch, but he never received a response. "Ok, ok, think calmly Lilo...if you were still _you_, and you got lost, what would you do?" She thought aloud, confusing himself with the "you"'s of his hypothetical question. "Uh...wait, I know, I think I would stay where I-"A noise sounded close, a rustle, possibly of leaves.

"Stitch?" He called out quietly. "Is that you?" An uneasy silence answered back. Stitch walked forward timidly; alert in case something was going to pounce him. He crept up to the small bush (or at least what was made out to be a bush in the fog) and put a hand into it, ruffling the leaves to try and scare whatever had made the noise. Nothing seemed to be jarred, so he let a sigh out and relaxed. He stood up, chuckled to himself, and turned around.

"Whoa!" He screamed, falling back into a sit as he bumped into a dark figure. His heart pounded as he stared at the ominous silhouette. It was an experiment; tall, slightly taller then he was, and appeared to have its back facing him. "Stitch? Is _that_ you?" He asked meekly. A tingling fear leapt down his back as the creature's head turned, its eyes an eerie white against the fog. His heart skipped a beat as the figure then suddenly disappeared literally into thin air. Stitch screamed—though very loudly as Lilo was used to screaming—and bolted in a random direction.

_"What _was _that, some sort of ghost-experiment?" _He thought. _"I gotta find Stitch; we gotta get out of here!" _Stitch stopped abruptly in his run, and another jolt of fear ran across his spine as he saw yet another figure in the dense fog, but his shoulders relaxed and a sigh of relief came upon him as Lilo took color. "Stitch!" He sighed, as he ran up to hug Lilo.

"Stitch found home; follow." She said assertively.

"Ok. And once we get there, we have to talk to Jumba; there's another experiment on the loose, and I _think_ it's another horror one."


	7. Zeus

Protection

C/By Kenjaje

Chapter 7: Zeus

The mist around them felt cold and yet warm as Lilo and Stitch wandered arbitrarily through the whiteness. Lilo led the way, as she claimed to have found the house. For a while, they trotted in silence, listening to the sounds around them. Stitch's arm extended onto Lilo's shoulder, like a side-of-guide.

"We've been wandering a long time..." Stitch complained in a low voice, as not to disturb the noisy nature around them. "Are you sure you know where you're going?"

"Eh," Lilo replied, glancing around to get her bearings, "eechuta..." she continued her answer, her voice losing a bit of confidence. _"It was right here...I think...or was it this direction?" _Stitch thought to himself, Lilo's voice coming into his mind. Apparently she thought to herself in her own voice, and in the back of his thoughts, Stitch wondered if Lilo heard his voice as she thought to herself.

"Stitch...I think we're lost..." Stitch said with a slight shudder.

"Naga. Stitch knows exactly where Stitch is going." Lilo replied aggressively. She felt a tingle of frustration; it was getting harder and harder to navigate through the fog, and she was too stubborn to admit that she _had _gotten them lost. Stitch seemed to hear Lilo's feelings, and responded to them.

"You don't have to act like that, if we're lost just say so. It's not big deal, but at least let me know so I can help." Stitch didn't see Lilo's face turn stolid, but knew by the odd silence that she wasn't about to admit defeat. "So, are we lost?"

"Naga." She snapped back, looking behind her. Stitch smiled slyly, knowing he was just pressing Lilo's buttons; which was fun, yet cruel. As if to signify the opposite of Lilo's response, a bramble ball passed in front of them, bouncing with a rustle as its dried limbs smacked against the ground.

"There's something you don't see in Hawaii every day..." Stitch said with a raised eyebrow. Lilo looked at the tumbleweed until it pounced into the thickness of the fog.

"Oketaka..." she commented, her voice trailing off with provoked wonder.

"Anyway, we're lost." Stitch said matter-of-factly. Lilo growled. "Take it easy, it's not your fault." Stitch said, raising his arms in surrender. "I can barely see a thing out here too." Lilo shut her mouth quickly.

"Then what does Lilo suggest?" She snarled, defeated.

"I'll try to find home, but not by wandering around." Stitch sat on the invisible ground and put his nose to the air, closing his eyes. He took a small, quick, sniff, followed shortly by a series of inward snorts. "I think it's...this way." He murmured, standing to two feet and taking Lilo's hand.

A few more minutes of wandering an unseen path, and they finally reached a familiar spot. They weren't exactly sure where they were, but the spot was somewhere between the meadow and the house, and they knew which way to go from here. So as to make Stitch feel a bit better, Lilo let him lead the way. Not six minutes later, the two were inside the home just after shutting the back door.

"Iktaba." Lilo said, stretching after the long hike.

"You said it..." Stitch agreed, following in Lilo's gesture. "I'm going to go see Jumba about that experiment I saw in the fog. Maybe it's the reason why we're having this spooky weather."

"Eh." Lilo replied, as they both made their way up the stairs and through the hall. Lilo stopped at the elevator, and took it up to their room to change. Stitch continued down the hall, a few more steps and she arrived in Jumba's room.

"Jumba?" He called, before actually stepping into the doorway.

"Yes, is that you little girl? Come in." He beckoned.

"How's the switch-thing going?" Stitch asked, eyeing more edible produce that now took up the table.

"Am having no luck little girl, it seems as though everything I try is ending up in catastrophe." He replied, setting down a purple colored pineapple, and scratched his chin for a moment. "I'm sorry, what is it you are wanting?" He asked.

"Well," Stitch began, "Stitch and I were walking home from hula practice, and there's this really thick fog outside. We got lost, and I think I ran into an experiment, and I think it's what's causing the fog."

"Another experiment you say...what did it look like?"

"I couldn't tell...but it looked tall, sort of skinny, and it had these ghostly white eyes like it was about to suck out my soul!" He explained, getting enthusiastic with the description about the eyes.

"Hmm...experiment that can make fog, is tall, and has the eyes of apparitions...let me think..." Lilo wandered into the room, wearing a purple shirt and forest-green shorts, and wasn't surprised when Jumba exclaimed "AHA! Am thinking it could be 599."

"599 huh? What's its purpose?" Stitch asked.

"I'm not quite sure I remember exactly, but I do know that its main purpose is to create thunderstorms. And, am thinking it had one other ability, but can't quite remember...oh yes, that's right, it can evaporate its body and turn into a cloud."

"Kibisha?"

"Yes, is very ingenious, no? But, in order to keep track of 599 while as a cumulonimbus, I designed it so that its eyes were magnified a great deal. To an unaware eye, it might just look like brighter shading on the surface, but if you look harder, you will actually notice them."

"Is that why it has ghostly eyes?" Stitch asked.

"Exactly. But, am thinking I left something out about it..."

"Gaba chisita Lilo?" Lilo asked.

"A name? Well...seeing as how he makes thunderstorms, he kind of controls lightning doesn't he?"

"Yes, of course." Jumba replied, breaking away from his thinking.

"Then I think I'll call him Zeus."

"Zeus?" Jumba and Lilo both asked. Stitch cocked his head with surprise.

"Haven't you ever heard of him?"

"Naga." Lilo replied.

"I'm afraid I have not either." Jumba agreed.

"Well, I'll have to explain it to you some other time. C'mon Stitch we got us an experiment to catch."

"Eh!" She yelled, as they both jetted out the room, down the hall, out of the door, and into the fog yet again.

"Wait! Little girl!" Jumba ran screaming to the back door. "Have forgotten to mention, 599's weakness is solar energy and light; is nocturnal, that is why there is thick fog, to block out sun!"

"Got it!" Stitch's voice hollered back. Jumba's arm dropped back down to his side.

"Am wishing you good luck...this one may be tricky to catch."

"Excuse me, miss?" A costumer called to Nani.

"Yes, how can I help you?" She replied in a very cheerful yet agitated tone.

"I'd like to turn in my board and mask, it seems like the weathers gotten a bit harsh out today." Said the red-haired, freckle-faced, wheezy voice.

"Alright then, and how many hours have you been out?" She continued, writing down information on the rental log.

"About two...maybe three hours?" He asked himself. "Two and half maybe." Nani mumbled to herself, thinking aloud, as she calculated the cost of the rent.

"That'll be eighteen, twenty-eight." She announced, as she finished writing the receipt. The customer handed over a twenty-dollar bill.

"Keep the change." His voice cracked, and he disappeared into the fog, which Nani had taken a quick notice to, now that the person wasn't blocking the window. She had stayed mostly inside all day, trying to fix the soda machine which had broken down (again).

"I hope Lilo and Stitch didn't get caught in this..." She said to herself. She turned around and picked up the remote for the television and switched it to the local weather. "I hope nothing big is coming..."

"...Due to the car accident that happened approximately fifteen minutes ago, several roads have been blocked and detours have been set out for drivers and tourists, it is advised you watch for these detours when traveling through the main street area. And now we turn to meteorologist Collie Kerrsnig, who will explain to you just _why _there have been three accidents, in the past two hours."

"Thank you Mark. Well as you can see, we have very thick and heavy fog moving in from the east; it's already infected North Shores, and is slowly spreading outward toward the western edges of the island. Starting at approximately three fourt-five this afternoon, it is expected to stay throughout the remainder of the night. Now, if we look at our radar, you'll notice that there's a large storm headed our way, it is expected to be here within thirty to forty-five minutes, and it too, will last us the rest of the night, and quite possibly the majority of tomorrow—Steve."

Nani muted the television and paced for a minute or so, wondering if she should call her boss to see if she could get the rest of the day off. She looked at the clock, it was 6:11, her shift was over at 7:30, she could wait. She only hoped Lilo got home in time from hula practice.

"Lilo?"

"Hm?"

"Gabitcha kik-soocha Zeus...proto-ka takata?" Stitch paused.

"Good point..." He said, looking around at the fog as if just noticing its density. "It will be hard to find Zeus in the fog. Maybe if we reach higher ground, we can see over it." Lilo looked around, and started wandering off into the thickness. Disappearing only for a moment from Stitch's vision, he followed her to her destination. She stopped at the base of a large trunk; the top of the tree was barely visible through the thick haze.

"Help, please." Lilo requested. Stitch moved Lilo aside and put a foot against a root of the tree, then placed his left hand on the thickness of the trunk. He attempted to climb it, but couldn't get his claws out in order to do so.

"Hm...how do you extend your claws?" He asked, looking at his right hand and twiddling his fingers to try and coax the sharp appendages into coming out of their sheaths. Lilo took Stitch's hand in hers, palm up, and with her other hand, massaged certain pressure points. The claws slowly protruded, almost reflexively, and a strange feeling came over Lilo. She wasn't able to control Stitch's body too well, and having Stitch control it from the outside was something very new to her. "Thanks." Stitch said, as he unsheathed the other hand and his feet on his own.

"Nakuta-vu." Lilo smiled.

"Hop on." He said, after getting a foothold on the tree; his claws boring holes into the pith of the trunk. Lilo hosted herself onto Stitch's back, and he carried them both up the tree to the top. Upon reaching the apex of their climb, the fog drifted away, as if on cue; all at once instead of gradual. Stitch murmured something in surprise, but Lilo couldn't make it out.

The lighting was very dark; twilight had arrived. The sky a mosaic of soft, cotton-candy clouds, and dark blues, and indigos until it was cut off by the tree line. Overhead, the clouds were very black on the bottom, almost ready to cry. Both Lilo and Stitch saw the lightning bolt that arced in a Y-shape from two clouds to the ground, and heard the large drum roll of thunder and felt the tree and earth shiver beneath them. And all at once a sheet of rain pounded upon them.


	8. Heavy Rains

Protection

C/By Kenjaje

Chapter 8: Heavy Rains

Rain thundered against the ground as loud as the clouds thundered in the sky. Powerful winds blew against the truck's door as Nani drove hastily home. The windshield was a blur of sheeted rain and black swishes as the wipers crisscrossed in effort to smear away the constant water, but it didn't help much.

"Watch out!" She heard a person yell as she saw headlights in front of her. She realized she was on the wrong side of the road and she swerved right just barely dodging the oncoming car. The driver yelled and swore at her as he passed, shaking his fist out the window.

"Sheesh, he could use a few manners. I wish I had one of those blasters so I could teach him a lesson." Nani grumbled, as she stepped down on the pedal. "How on earth did this happen...it was clear as crystal just this morning." She whispered, trying to see the road ahead.

"Stitch slipping! Stitch slipping!" Lilo shouted, her hands sliding through Stitch's sleek fur.

"Hang on Stitch!" Came his reply over the loud roar of thunder and howl of wind. Stitch's lips began to flap in the gale uncontrollably, he felt his fur being strewn in all directions, his ears flailed violently, and the rain that shot him in the face forced him to close his eyes reflexively.

"Stitch...can't...." Stitch felt Lilo let go of his shoulders as another more powerful gust soared past them, carrying small leaves and twigs along with it.

"Stitch!" Stitch cried, letting go of the tree with on hand and trying to use it to catch Lilo. He was successful, however the tree was now too slippery for him to have any hold, and with another forceful push of wind, they both plundered to the ground nearly seven feet below. Stitch hit the ground headfirst but rolled, landing flat on a rock that hit his back hard, but the pain went away almost immediately. "Stitch, are you ok?" He called.

"Stitch fine..." Came her reply. But it was contradicting; she was in pain. Stitch found the source of her whisper, and saw her wincing as she held her hand by the wrist, a spec of blood on her palm.

"C'mon," Stitch said loudly, the wind distorting his volume. He helped Lilo to her feet and shielded her from the wind; debris pounded against his back. "Let's get somewhere safe."

"Oga-shuvuta." Lilo pointed to a large rock. Stitch nodded, and let go of Lilo as she brushed him off. "Legata." She said quickly, almost inaudibly, as she ran to the large stone. It was tall and hooked, the perfect buffer from the debris, and maybe the rain. Stitch followed in toe, and soon they were under the shelter.

"We've got to find Zeus, he's causing all of this." Stitch said, out of breath.

"Eh, but...where to start?" A lightning flash came from the distance; the storm seemed to sound more severe by the second.

"Maybe he's in the most severe part of the storm. But," a look concern crossed Stitch's face, "finding him will be easy, the problem is..." Stitch paused. "I don't think I'll be able to fight him as you." Lilo looked blankly for a second, trying to figure out what Stitch had said, and then smiled.

"Isa Oketaka, Lilo. Stitch sure Lilo do fine." She smiled.

"But, what if you get hurt or something? I mean, what if you get into some kind of danger and I'm not able to-"

"Come on." Lilo shouted, ignoring Stitch's concern. She grabbed him by the arm, and led him out from behind the rock into the storm, which now seemed desperate to send them into the air.

_"But Stitch, we're dealing with water..."_

"Lilo! Lilo!" Nani screamed over the thunderclaps as she entered the home. "Lilo are you home?"

"Little girl went out earlier," came Jumba's voice from upstairs inside his room, "should be back later." He heard Nani's footsteps as she bolted up the stairs, and he turned before she even got to his room, expecting her.

"What do you mean she's _out_? You let her go out in this weather?"

"Well, not being exactly. You see, not five minutes ago it was only foggy out and little girl went to go find experiment 599-"

"She's out finding an experiment?" Nani snapped.

"Yes, 599. Which, by the way, is the cause of this storm." Nani's eyes blinked a second as a look of confusion crossed her face. Jumba sighed. "Little girl and 626 went out to find 599. My experiment is causing the storm which we are in now, and is quite possibly where little girl and 626 are caught in as well."

"Get in the truck, we're going after them." Nani ordered.

"Why? Is just little earth storm..."

"This 'little earth storm' could get my sister hurt, or worse. We have to find her before this entire island is covered."

"Hm...could be dangerous for 626 also. Very well, be getting my rain jacket.

"Whoa!" Lilo shouted, as she slipped on the ground.

"Gotcha." Stitch said, catching her before she fell. "Be careful, it's slippery."

"Naga chuta." She grumbled as she kicked off her sandals. "There. Legata." Stitch followed Lilo as she led the way—though to where Stitch wasn't sure. In actuality he figured she was just wandering, hoping to find Zeus somewhere, either in the sky or on the ground. Stitch took advantage of his vision enhancing eyes to scope the clouds for anything that looked out of the ordinary, but found nothing.

"I don't see anything, do yo-," A staccato of lightning flashes and thunderbolts dominated the sky, as Stitch tumbled to a sit behind Lilo's abrupt stop. A lightning bolt had landed not five feet in front of them, and a wave of static electricity sparkled over Stitch's fur. Stitch staggered to his feet, mud and slime clung to his fur like glue, but he wasn't concerned with the filth from the ground.

He noticed a shadow inside a small cloud of fog in front of him. Lilo stood rigid, her feet dug into the ground as Stitch used her body to take a fighting stance, ready to pounce on the figure before them.

"It's Zeus." Stitch said, recognizing the figure. The very same one he had run into an hour or so ago, that scared him slightly, and seemed to survey him during their last encounter. He was tall and slender; his eyes were white along with the fog surrounding him, which clouded his body. If he had fur, if he had any density, you wouldn't be able to tell. It almost appeared as though he _was _the cloud. "Stand back Stitch, I'll take care of him."

"...Suga." Lilo nodded, striding her feet back and taking refuge behind Stitch.

"Zeus, stop doing this; stop the storm now!" Stitch demanded aggressively. Zeus did nothing, but merely kept a nonchalant pose against the constant flicker of light behind him. "If you don't stop this storm now, I'm going to have to force you!" Stitch threatened. Zeus replied by popping his knuckles. Stitch took a step back, not wanting to fight.

"Ju catchuga." Lilo whispered, putting a hand on Stitch's shoulder. Stitch stared back a second, and smiled, then focused his gaze upon Zeus. Verbally, he warned the rogue experiment that he was going to have to force him, and after a moments pause, he leapt toward the clouded Zeus.

Bearing his claws and teeth Stitch hurled himself toward Zeus, not intending to hurt the experiment at all, but merely attempting to look threatening. Perhaps the experiment would get cold feet and back out of the fight. _"I can do this..." _Stitch thought, _"Stitch is the strongest experiment there is, the only thing is...I'm borrowing his body. If he can do it, maybe I can too." _

The fogged experiment neither flinched nor made a move as Stitch neared closer and closer in his arc. Time seemed to slow, beads of sweat formed, but were disguised by the dropping of the rain. He neared the end of his assault, his claws inches away from Zeus' figure. And in half a second, his claws retracted, and he grabbed onto Zeus' wrist.

Zeus said nothing as Stitch retracted his claws and gripped onto his wrist, but swiftly as Stitch had made contact, he twirled around with the force of the blowing winds around him, and hurled Stitch back in the direction he came. Lilo quickly dove to catch him before he fell hard onto the ground.

"Ju takishta! Miaga nolegweesta!" The eyes of Zeus narrowed as Lilo shouted. Apparently she had pushed Zeus' buttons and flared his temper. He held up his clouded hands, and a static wave surrounded him. Lilo froze with fear for a second, remembering what lightning felt like when Hamsterveil had used the fail saves in the robots to try and electrocute him. She felt something like that was about to happen again, and so she grabbed Stitch, who was just now starting to get out of his daze, and ran into the concealment and sanctity of the trees, which turned out not to be such a safe haven after all.

Over her shoulder Lilo saw a stream of lightning hit the branch of a tree, and catch it on fire. She dove to the ground, the branch barely missing both of them, and quickly she scrambled to her feet, only to be stopped in her tracks by another flaming branch that fell in her path. One more to their side, and in seconds, a circle of flames surrounded them. Lilo looked over to where Zeus was, but he was gone.


	9. Desperation

Protection

C/By Kenjaje

Chapter 9: Desperation

Stitch—as Lilo—took a cursory glance at his surroundings. An almost complete circle of fire blazed and crackled, slowly consuming and closing the large gap between it and him. The rain that fell still pounded the earth wasn't enough to douse the embers, however. Stitch stared at Lilo—in his body—in his arms. She was out cold. He remembered again the night before, when Hamsterveil used the fail saves of the robots to shock him. It knocked him out for who knows how long.

"Lilo, wake up, wake up." Stitch urged, an uneasy voice echoed in his ears. He was afraid, terribly afraid. If this was a different situation, and he was in his own body, he wouldn't hesitate to jump through the high flames surrounding them. But this was different; he was in skin, not his fur. He could protect Lilo, but only as himself. Now, doing something irrational would just risk them both. Another branch cracked and fell, feeding the fire surrounding them. Stitch screamed, Lilo's voice echoed loudly, and the bundle in his arms began to stir.

Lilo—as Stitch—forced her eyes open, but didn't get more than a sliver of vision out of her effort. She felt heat around her, and saw the orange light of the fire that massed her range of vision. Her mind felt numb, she could barely feel her arms and legs, and her ears buzzed with the scream.

"Stitch...?" Came her voice, as his.

"Lilo!" He exclaimed, "Ju-kashata."

"Of course I'm alright...but I can't move." Her speech was weak, slightly airy, and a little muffled, but Stitch could still understand everything she said. Stitch shot his eyes around again, trying to look for a place to escape from the flames now only a few feet away from them, but saw no route. "There's a fire isn't there?"

"Eh...Stitch can't get out...isa conjubashas." Lilo coughed.

_"I want to help." _Lilo thought, forcing her to eyes open all the way. _"I've got to help, I've got to get us out of here. Stitch is the only one able to do _something_, so I've got to try..." _She tried to lift her arms, but they felt like they weighed a ton. She managed to raise it a few inches, but then slumped it back down, unable to lift it any higher.

"Stitch wish we were back to normal." He muttered, his voice low and calm, but sounding distinct despite the blaze around them. Lilo could hear the tremor of fear in her own voice as Stitch spoke. As if reacting to Stitch's words, she felt a surge of something between desperation and anger pulse through Stitch's body. It happened without her knowing about it, as if she didn't have any control over it. However, she quickly realized that whatever was happening, was giving her strength. She could feel her arms and legs again; her eyes shot open and her heart pounded with adrenaline. "Ju zagashu!" Stitch said with surprise, as Lilo pried herself free from his grasp.

She said nothing as she glanced around, now fully realizing what was going on. The fire was almost on top of them; the heat from it caused a stinging feeling all over her body. She looked back at Stitch, who was breathing hard and sweating from the heat surrounding them. She had to act quickly if she was going to save them.

"Hang on, I'll get us out of this...somehow..." She spoke aloud, desperately jerking her head in all directions to find some means of escape. She looked up, and saw high above her a thick branch that wasn't engulfed in flames yet. Her eyes followed the branch to a tree that was a few feet out of the fire's range, and acted swiftly with a plan.

In a single bound, and with the thanks of Stitch's flexibility, she was able to clear the tops of the flames, and with another bound as soon as she landed, was able to latch on to her target. She heaved a breath in and out, calming her unsteady muscles that shivered nervously. She wasted no more time, and proceeded in scaling the tree, following the branch extending back above the roaring flames. The branch sagged and strained as she waded down its length. When she reached the end of the limb, she extended Stitch's extra arms and used them to get a better hold on the branch, and with her free hand she reached down to where Stitch was.

"Grab on!" She hollered, and Stitch did, gratefully clasping her wrist. The branch heaved and lurched as Lilo tried to pull Stitch up, having difficulty. She let her legs loosen their clasp around the branch to help pull Stitch up. She struggled as Stitch climbed up her arm, and winced as he screamed in her voice, as his grip started to weaken. "When we get out of this," Lilo shouted trying her best to help lift him up, "remind me that my screams are loud, annoying, _and _they heart your ears."

"Can't hold on!" Stitch yelled, as he slid down Lilo's arm. Stitch heard the branch crack two times, and a wave of panic rushed through him. He let go for a split-second, but leeched upward and caught Lilo's hand in both of his, hanging helplessly only a little less than a foot above the flames.

For the next three seconds, time seemed to slow down for them. Lilo heard the branch as it gave way, and broke with a _snap_, sending them plummeting into the fire. While, at the same time, from her hand in Stitch's, she saw a purple flash of light extinguish the fire, before her eyes went white.

"Ugh..." Lilo moaned, as she sat up. Her vision blurred for a second, then focused. Around her, the ground was black and sizzled slightly. She was a bit out of breath, but otherwise, nothing hurt. She rubbed her head with her hand, and brushed the soot from her forehead, which felt strange to her at first. It lacked something, but she didn't know what it was until she looked at her hand. It was absent of fur. "Huh?"

"Oh...ah..." Stitch grumbled, as he pushed himself up off his stomach. Lilo glanced over at him, barely able to see the blue fur against the black ground and dark light. "I...I'm ok. I'm fluffy!" She glanced at her own hand again, not believing what she saw, and beamed happily.

"Stitch!" She yelled excitedly, running up to him and hugging him from behind. He yelled with surprise as he felt his arms clamp to his sides and his feet leave the ground. "We're back to normal!" He heard her voice exclaim. She set him down on his feet, and he looked down. He wiggled his stubby toes, making sure they were his, and smiled.

"Yeah." He said; his voice tired but relieved. "Back to normal."

"But...how...?" She asked aloud. "You saw it, didn't you? That bright flash of light...and how it put out the fire?"

"Eh, iba...naga shotishu-juba..." He replied, blinking his eyes and turning on his nocturnal sensors.

"Well, it looked like it came from us, and I've seen it before too. It was the same color as when we were first switched." She put a hand to her chin. "But...what caused us to switch back?" Stitch thought for a second, relaying everything that happened, and observed something. He walked over to Lilo and took one of her hands. "What are you doing?"

"Shon-chiba, takka-takka." He said, butting both his hands around hers. "Eh?" He commented, to see if she understood.

"That's right, you had your hands around mine before the light came..." She paused, and took a breath in. "Wait a minute. When we first switched, you were asleep, and I was trying to get you out of Jumba's room while Gantu was attacking. You were on the ground, and I was trying to get out really fast, so I grabbed your hand, just like you grabbed mine when we were about to fall from the tree." She explained. Stitch nodded.

"Sounds like Lilo has it." He said, letting go of her hand. He blinked his eyes again, and the green glow disappeared. He sighed and folded his arms around his chest. His posture changed, his eyes narrowed as he started to think to himself. His ears drooped slightly. Lilo frowned; she knew why Stitch had suddenly grown quiet and still. They had gotten out of only a small problem compared to what lay ahead. Zeus was still at large, and by now he could be anywhere on the island. "Naga choota." Stitch said, stroking a hand across Lilo's face and lifting her frown, smiling to cheer her up. "Stitch and Lilo will catch Zeus. Eh."

"Yeah," she sniffed, rubbing her eye, "I guess you're right." They sighed. "We should go home for now, Nani's probably worried sick or something. She'll probably..." Lilo trailed. She couldn't quite tell in the dim pink lighting, but it appeared as though Stitch was listening hard at something off in the distance.

."What is it?" She whispered.

"Stitch hears water...sounds like waves." He said, his ear stretching and twitching.

"Waves?" Lilo asked, a daunted expression crossing her face. "C'mon!" She ordered, seizing Stitch's arm and bolting in what seemed like a random direction.

"What wrong?" Stitch warbled, as he tried to keep pace with the sudden gesture. He heard the sound of rushing water grow increasingly louder behind him.

"We have to get you out of here," she said, jumping over a fallen, burned tree, "otherwise, you'll drown," she paused her speech again as she parted through a thicket of low branches. Stitch heard the panic in her voice as she continued, "That _wave_ is a flash flo-" Lilo didn't finish her sentence; her voice was disrupted and turned into air bubbles as the body of water swept the two into its current; pounding against them like a solid wall.


	10. Rescue

Protection

C/By Kenjaje

Chapter 10: Rescue

"Where is she?" Nani muttered under her breath. The truck puttered up and down on the uneven road as she drove through the rain and mud. It was getting darker by the minute, and as she had to rely more and more on the headlights, she felt more and more agitated.

"You know, little girl is smart. Could be possible she has returned home with 626." Jumba suggested, trying to keep his eyes steady as he scanned around on the off chance that he would find them wandering beside the road—or worse. "In fact, am betting you." Nani glanced at him, and said nothing. She leaned over and turned on the radio with one hand. It crackled and hissed with static as she adjusted the knobs to find the local weather.

"Well a...you may have not...ced we are...ently in the middle of a large and dangerous storm," the anchor blazed in as the station cleared. Her voice was oddly charismatic despite the mood of the car. "Starting at approximately seven-thirty this evening near North Shores, the storm has covered the island remarkably quick, despite our radar. Flash floods have already been seen in unoccupied territories, and are expected to continue and grow more severe. All citizens should stay in their homes or find higher land—if any. Steve," Nani dulled the volume on the radio.

"I don't know about you Jumba, but I can tell when something's not right. Intuition tells me both of them are still out there, I just hope that its wrong." She sighed. "We'll go back, but only after one more pass." She said after a pause.

"Agreed." Jumba nodded, keeping his eyes stuck to the road. A flash of lightning and thunder rumbled across the earth.

_"Save Stitch." _Lilo's thoughts demanded, arousing her to consciousness with a heavy heartbeat that echoed in her ears. _"Save Stitch." _It repeated calmly, but a bit more urgent this time. Lilo didn't know how long she was out. A few seconds, a minute; it felt like both simultaneously. She let go of the little bit of air in her lungs and raced her bubbles up a few feet to the surface, fighting the current that bashed against her.

After breaking through the tension, she cleared her eyes and quickly looked around. Lightning flared with the roar of lions following its presence. A rumble reverberated through the water as Lilo tried to tread it. She took a deep breath, listening to the command her subconscious was giving her, and dove back down.

The current was strong to fight, but she was stronger. It was deeper than she had expected, almost seven feet down. She pushed through the waters harder and harder, skimming the bottom to find her friend. She had to act fast, or else...

"_Concentrate." _She banished the thought from her mind, and straightened her eyes, now agitated from the water. Dirt, twigs, and other debris rocketed past her. She was careful to dodge the large objects, and took no mind to the small, puny pellets. She latched on to the submerged ground, digging her fingers deep into the earth, where she paused to look around.

"_I'm not going to find him..." _She told herself, looking into the dark distance. _"He could be anywhere." _She blinked her eyes, and let go of the earth, floating up, but still searching. She scrutinized the water, looking for anything that remotely resembled Stitch. However, as she looked ahead again, a small stone caught her face. She let a flurry of bubbles out in reaction, and her head whipped with recoil, but she quickly regained composure.

Because she lost a good deal of air, she sank to the bottom very quickly. She decided to use the ground as leverage to help thrust her up faster, but as she touched the ground, she grabbed on to something bulky and fleshy, rather than dirt. Her whipped down to spot onto what her hand had latched, and was met with the sight of a blue arm, lazily relaxed and floating in the current.

She reacted without hesitation, using the most of her strength to find the bulk of Stitch's body and lift it into a comfortable position for her to swim out. She crouched, and shot up to the surface, kicking and flailing her legs and right arm to go up instead of forward, as she swam with the current. Her lungs burned and commanded air with a forceful sting, and she felt like she was about to pass out, until at the last second she broke through the tension and heaved in a quick, but necessary, gasp.

But the rescue was half complete; she had to get him to safety somewhere. She looked around again, kicking hard to keep her head above the surface. She spotted a small rise as lightning flashed again onto the ground, and wasted no time in wading toward it. Again, she was lucky, the current ended up helping her reach her destination.

With her only hand she latched onto the ground and resisted the pull of the river. Thunder crackled overhead as she strenuously dragged herself to land. Picking Stitch up once she had room for her feet, she ran for a few second up the hill, and once she thought it was safe enough; she laid Stitch on his back.

"Stitch," she spoke quickly, trying to shake him awake, "Stitch wake up." He didn't respond. She leaned her head over and listened for breath, but didn't feel or hear any, and didn't see his chest rising. "C'mon Stitch." She said to keep herself from panicking. She recalled the lesson David had given her on how to rescue someone who wasn't breathing, but she didn't remember all of it. But, she had to do what she could.

Placing both hands on his stomach, she pushed down lightly. She a bit of water leak out the sides of his mouth, and repeated the compression, this time a little harder. She heard the water sloshing around inside of him, and kept a steady pace of compressions, trying desperately not to panic, but getting more on the verge. She felt she was forgetting something, but continued on with what she knew, until a relieving sputter came from Stitch's throat, that ended the tears running from her eyes.

He coughed. His head leaned to the side and his tongue flattened out on the ground as his body convulsed and pulsed as he hacked up water. After half a minute of constantly draining the fluids, Stitch finally rested to a soft, steady breathing. Lilo lifted her palm from his chest, and moved to his shoulder.

"Stitch," he heard her voice through his clogged ears, "can you hear me?" Slowly, he opened his eyes, his vision obscured. He turned his head to look up, and saw Lilo's head, out of focus in his eyes. The sky, he could tell, was illuminated with the constant flicker of lightning that seemed omnipresent in what he saw.

"Li-"He tried to speak, but water kicked in his throat, causing him to cough again. He sat up, placed his hands on his thighs, and tried to breath in deep to get the rest of it out. Lilo patted his back to help him, but wasn't sure if it did any good. Finally, Stitch stopped, and took in a deep sigh. "Three times, now." He said softly, his voice cool. He looked over and smiled at Lilo, though his gaze was a bit past her in his still-clearing vision.

"Thr-three times?" Lilo repeated, her voice catching as a knot tied in her throat.

"Naga cry." He said, turning around and wiping her cheek with his hand.

"I...I'm not." She said, sniffing and rubbing her cheeks, brushing Stitch away meekly. "But, what do you mean, 'three times'?" She asked.

"How many times Lilo save Stitch." He replied, straightening his gaze.

"That's too many." She commented, followed by a loud boom of thunder that shook the ground, but they didn't seem to notice. She stood as Stitch chuckled, and offered a hand to help him up. He gripped it tightly, and stood, but lost his balance immediately as his mind spun around. "Watch it," Lilo said, holding him steady by the shoulders, "need help?" He nodded silently, lifting his arm across her back as she stepped to his side.

"Sorry Stitch worried Lilo." He apologized, as he followed her steps

"Don't be," she said, "it's not your fault. I'm just glad your safe...I really thought I was going to-"

"Naga shibi-ishka." He interrupted. "Stitch fine, Lilo fine; all that maters."

"You're right." She agreed. "Now all we have to do is get home." Stitch blinked twice. The area was close to where the house was, from what he could recognize, anyway. He pointed in a direction, and Lilo turned to walk them that way. "Huh?" She said aloud as she saw two lights come into view in front of her. The sound of a motor soon followed, and she realized that it was a truck before her.

"Lilo!" Nani shouted, as the car turned off and the doors opened up. "Lilo, are you alright?"

"We're fine, Nani." Lilo said loudly over the thunder. "And you're _hugging us to death!_" Nani let go abruptly, causing Stitch to fall over as he lost his balance again.

"Did you find experiment 599?" Jumba called, stepping up to them with an umbrella.

"Now's not the time," Nani said, leading Lilo, "you can tell us on the way home." She opened the door and let them climb in, and then shut it tightly. _"And I'm _glad _you're coming home..." _She thought, as she took her place in the driver's seat and started the engine.

**Isa Coa Maketaba**

**(To be continued)**


End file.
